A Panama-flagged freighter that ran aground near Istanbul's Yeniköy district on Wednesday was finally towed away on Friday, after two days of efforts that led to the disruption of maritime traffic.

"Star Harmony," a 189-meter-long vessel that was transporting corn from Ukraine to Egypt ran aground off Yeniköy on Wednesday, however, rescue operations were hampered due to bad weather and authorities on Thursday temporarily banned two-way international shipping traffic.